Green Champions
26 Septempber 2008
Communication is an essential part of daily life, without it humans could not function beyond the most basic level. This is the reason why Action 21 is running the Green Champions training project for the second time, which focuses on making us more effective at communicating and spreading the environmental message to others as well as looking at tools and methods of engaging with people.
It is clear that the environmental debate has suffered greatly from the difficulty in communicating important messages; this is reflected in the slow public acceptance of global warming. It is definitely off putting when a subject appears to be full of jargon or is delivered by people who seem to endlessly criticize other’s way of life. However there is another side to the environmental movement which works on the principle that large scale changes can be made through everyday social encounters.
The Green Champions is one such initiative that aims to harness this type of social empowerment by providing environmental communications training free of charge to anyone interested in attending. Green Champions works on the principle of equipping individuals with the confidence necessary to communicate environmental issues on their own through working in schools, facilitating change in community groups or going to public events depending on personal preference
The Green Champions project started earlier this year and is coordinated by Michelle Clarke of Action 21. The concept has many aims with the primary goal of giving ordinary people the confidence to get out and communicate environmental issues to people in a range of social situations from their own homes to schools and eco-fairs.
Social research and hands on practice show that collective communication through friendship, family and wider community is a strong pathway for spreading environmental change. This is the type of communication that Green Champions promote rather than overly scientific or preachy style of communication that has let the environmental movement down in the past.
Becoming a Green Champion is open to anybody with an interest in the environment. You don’t need to have done voluntary work before and this is a good place to come if you want to get started.
Recruitment for the next training event will be open at the beginning of next week so if you are interested in this free and valuable opportunity then get in touch!
Michelle Clarke, michelle@action21.co.uk, 01926 456076, www.action21.co.uk